TYPE: Architectural Design Competition
LOCATION: Fallon, Nevada, United States of America
DATE: 16th December 2021 - 1st June 2022
METHODOLOGY:
- Hand Drawing
- Nuclear Simulation
- Parafiction
- Historical Mapping
- Nuclear Simulation
- Parafiction
- Historical Mapping
EQUIPMENT & SOFTWARE:
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Blender
- Autodesk Revit
- AutoCAD
- Blender
- Autodesk Revit
- AutoCAD
The Last Nuclear Bomb Memorial Competition was intended to be a flagship for nuclear awareness for past incidents, current tests and the possible future fallout. The original submission was back in May 2021, but I have since redesigned my proposal, in light of today’s current events.
As the verbal threats continue to be thrown around between NATO and Russia regarding the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Russian media released a list of potential US sites consisting mainly of the Pentagon, The White House and other Military targets, but this targeting method will always affect more than just the institution. Nuclear weapons and their affects are so disconnected to us in comparison to years gone by, where the age of primary school nuclear drills are behind us but also is the knowledge and understanding of the impact that they could have.
As the verbal threats continue to be thrown around between NATO and Russia regarding the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Russian media released a list of potential US sites consisting mainly of the Pentagon, The White House and other Military targets, but this targeting method will always affect more than just the institution. Nuclear weapons and their affects are so disconnected to us in comparison to years gone by, where the age of primary school nuclear drills are behind us but also is the knowledge and understanding of the impact that they could have.
this is (not) a simulation.
FICTION IN FLUX
Nevada has had a close relationship to fusion and fission over the years, and has seen over 50 test since the beginning of the atomic age. Now with all types of nuclear testing, banned by the ‘Comprehensive Nuclear Test Treaty of 1963, Nevada is now just littered with the scars of its past. Fallon, Nevada is a seemingly quiet small city, situated 62 miles to the east of Reno, with a population of 9,500 people, famous across the United States for its festivities and the ‘Hearts of Gold’ a type of cantaloupe melon unique to Fallon.
In the event of a nuclear war Fallon would fall victim to the military targeting tactic, as it is only 6.3 miles away from Naval Air Station Fallon. The Chapel of the Heart of Gold is located around a the ruin of what once was a Nugget Casino’ in the center of town on the busiest intersection in Fallon, with the aim of centring the project around a ‘landmark’ that the people of Fallon can relate to.
These maps are plotted based off of a Topol SS-25 nuclear warhead, a common missile in the Russian arsenal with a payload of 800kt. From one surface detonated missile, and a medium strength prevailing wind, there would be a radioactive dust cloud stretching up to 200 miles. On the ground in Fallon things would look far more dyer, a 180m crater would be
created with a fireball 1.15km in diameter. Within 2.43km people would receive a fatal dose of ionising radiation which would be fatal within the month, 3rd degree burns would be received by everyone within 9.7km. The Nugget Casino in the center of Fallon, lies within the light/ moderate blast damage radius, with 2-3psi of pressure collapsing wooden buildings within a 10.9km radius.
created with a fireball 1.15km in diameter. Within 2.43km people would receive a fatal dose of ionising radiation which would be fatal within the month, 3rd degree burns would be received by everyone within 9.7km. The Nugget Casino in the center of Fallon, lies within the light/ moderate blast damage radius, with 2-3psi of pressure collapsing wooden buildings within a 10.9km radius.
returning home.
A NUCLEAR STORY BOARD
Looking down South Maine Street during the annual ‘Hearts of Gold’ festivities, with stalls set up selling local produce with the distant sounds of live music and a crowd of revelling people. Nothing is untoward, until in the distance a flash of light so bright you can see the xrays of your hands through closed eyes, as a mushroom cloud 19km in height begins to rise into the sky. This is the moment before a shock wave of 2-3 psi tears through fallon.
Returning ‘home’ 25 years later a distant traveller overlooks the
wasteland of the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge with the remains of Fallon hazy in the distance. All reservoirs have dried up or been contaminated, all wildlife has either perished for fled to ‘greener’ pastures. Everything flammable would have burnt within a 5.72km radius. In the explosion large amounts of dust get suspended in the atmosphere, blocking the sun to 40% of its power. Nothing can grow, not food or grass alike.
wasteland of the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge with the remains of Fallon hazy in the distance. All reservoirs have dried up or been contaminated, all wildlife has either perished for fled to ‘greener’ pastures. Everything flammable would have burnt within a 5.72km radius. In the explosion large amounts of dust get suspended in the atmosphere, blocking the sun to 40% of its power. Nothing can grow, not food or grass alike.
Following the billowing smoke down South Maine Street, you are met by this sculpture amongst the rubble, Its form isn’t familiar, as you get closer small clues in the rubble begin to reminds you of what once stood in its place. Upon entry, you are greeted by this long sloping roof presenting something in the distance. Intertwined within all the twisted machinery and duct work, enclosed in glass lies a ‘Heart of Gold’, you stand in awe, wondering how this was possible.
As the people around you fixate upon this marvel, some of which may have never seen a plant bare fruit before, you begin to walk around the catwalk, getting to a level where you are reminded of the ruined context of Fallon but it is just as this moment where the disaster is framed, that you can see through the steam and smoke that this contraption is nuclear powered. Frightened at first, but ultimately conflicted between something that can destroy worlds but can also provide the key to the future, maybe in time realising that nuclear is not the destroyer of worlds but it is people who can claim this accolade.
nuclear formulation.
CREATING TECHNICAL FORMS
When it came to the design of the Chapel of the Heart of Gold, the approach of analysing axis and existing buildings wasn’t a realistic approach as the surrounding context is mostly destroyed; so the building is designed more as a sculpture or a stand alone object. The roof is at its lowest as you begin the journey down the building, acknowledging the charred timber walls and preserved rubble of the Nugget Casino, the roof gradually rises emulating the intensity of our nuclear journey into the future.
When I say ruin, people automatically think about the Parthenon or the Colosseum, something from a world long ago that it is unrelatable and detached from us today. But a ruin being considered a building of the modern everyday, further grounds the reality of the affect of a nuclear war, that the corner shop down the road could be this ruin. I used Blender to simulate how the building would be destroyed based of the material weight of each element of the existing building. The top of the building is just a lightweight wooden structure with an adobe and brick base. The far scattered pieces of charred rubble are used back into the construction of the chapel walls, preserved and the building is designed to sensitively mould around them. Both approaches continue the story of Fallon into this new age.
